Taboo

Taboo means forbidden, unspeakably evil. Taboos are social norms which prevent people from committing sin. For example, the taboo against cannibalism helps enforce the law against murder.

A mark of differentiation between civilized countries and primitive tribes is that the higher religions explicitly require and forbid what is good and evil. For example, in the Judeo-Christian tradition we have the Ten Commandments. In primitive cultures, a taboo is often tacit.

Some anthropologists who promote cultural relativism have sought to introduce primitive practices to the West, even though they are sinful. The increasing liberal National Geographic magazine (and especially its televized documentaries) take this approach.